Prosecutor wrote:Four innings, two hits, no walks, four K's against the best offense in baseball. Didn't take their pitching coach long to fix him. Now I know why Rad got fired.

Lowe made the adjustments himself with his personal pitching coach - nothing to do with the Yankees pitching coach - and adjustments that were both he and Rad knew were needed.

He was designated for assignment for the first time in his 16-year career -- the past 11 as a starter -- but took the 10-day window without a team as an opportunity to focus on himself. He immediately took to making mechanical changes both he and former Indians pitching coach Scott Radinsky knew were needed in Cleveland, but did not have the time for during side sessions as struggles prompted them to skip bullpen sessions altogether. But he also returned to Fort Myers, Fla., where he watched film from his Dodgers years with Orioles rehab pitching coordinator and personal pitching coach Chris Correnti, and the career "tinkerer" did just that, trying to regain deception to account for his waning velocity.

"You go on a 10-day kind of sit-around-and-do-nothing stage, but I needed it," said Lowe, who has made 279 relief appearances and 377 starts. "I was not going to come back and pitch if I couldn't get myself figured out, but what makes it easier is that I've always been a tinkerer. So it didn't take a long time, just a good two or three days of hard work, looking at video and realizing what you have to do."

skatingtripods wrote:So, we couldn't have Lowe throw side sessions and bullpens because he was struggling and because we didn't have time? Anybody want to try and figure out the logic in that?

If a guy sucks, you skip a start and tell Radinsky to do his fucking job.

Given where the Tribe was when they opted to DFA Lowe, it's hard to argue with the decision. He sucked. We sucked. Having him throw side sessions to finish out a disaster of a year when you can try out a couple of young arms to see what you have doesn't make a lot of sense.

Cutting bait with the fringe veterans is something Shapiro struggled with. Good to see Antonetti doing it quicker, although I'm still shocked that Kotchman is still on the team.

Let's not go overboard here. The guy had one good outing. If he repeats and repeats this, then good for him. But it is hard to knock Antonetti on this one, and I am someone generally quick to knock the front office.

skatingtripods wrote:So, we couldn't have Lowe throw side sessions and bullpens because he was struggling and because we didn't have time? Anybody want to try and figure out the logic in that?

If a guy sucks, you skip a start and tell Radinsky to do his fucking job.

Given where the Tribe was when they opted to DFA Lowe, it's hard to argue with the decision. He sucked. We sucked. Having him throw side sessions to finish out a disaster of a year when you can try out a couple of young arms to see what you have doesn't make a lot of sense.

I'm not disagreeing with you.

But, he sucked LONG before we were out of the race. In fact, he's sucked since the fourth week of May, when we were in first place. You mean to tell me that they never once had time to explore these magical adjustments that have apparently turned Lowe into a better pitcher?

I'm not getting bent about the situation. I'm just trying to figure out what Radinsky's job was if he couldn't plug any of the holes in the S.S. Lowe.

A God Damn dead man would understand that if a minor league bus in any city took a real sharp right turn, a Zack McCalister would likely fall out. - Lead Pipe

skatingtripods wrote:So, we couldn't have Lowe throw side sessions and bullpens because he was struggling and because we didn't have time? Anybody want to try and figure out the logic in that?

If a guy sucks, you skip a start and tell Radinsky to do his fucking job.

Given where the Tribe was when they opted to DFA Lowe, it's hard to argue with the decision. He sucked. We sucked. Having him throw side sessions to finish out a disaster of a year when you can try out a couple of young arms to see what you have doesn't make a lot of sense.

I'm not disagreeing with you.

But, he sucked LONG before we were out of the race. In fact, he's sucked since the fourth week of May, when we were in first place. You mean to tell me that they never once had time to explore these magical adjustments that have apparently turned Lowe into a better pitcher?

I'm not getting bent about the situation. I'm just trying to figure out what Radinsky's job was if he couldn't plug any of the holes in the S.S. Lowe.

Perhaps this situation is part of the reason he lost his job. Getting canned a little over half way through your first year is telling.

It cuts a lot of ways. I'm not sure how or why Lowe didn't have time to make these adjustments during the year, but I always thought that was part of his and the PC's job. Put the guy on the phantom DL with a 'sore shoulder' and let him do his tinkering, unless MLB monitors what players do during DL stints to make sure they are legit.

Clearly if all it took was 10 days away from baseball to get him right, they could have figured out a way to get it done.

And if it makes anyone feel better or worse, I listen to 790 out of Miami, and they rarely take calls, but when they do, every other hump is blaming hitting coach Eduardo Perez for Florida's offensive woes. Which is why good sports talk shows don't take many calls.

And by the way, a "10 day and sit around doing nothing session" is funny. Cause a major league starter at his busiest spends most of his professional time sitting around and doing nothing. Yeah, there's the 10 minutes of "throwing between starts," charting pitches, golfing and hot foots - but you've got plenty of time to think about your craft if you wish.

A better explanation is Old Yeller stumbled upon a few good innings, because after watching his stuff this year, he was more than an "adjustment" away from making major league hitters the least bit uncomfortable.

Bigfist wrote:Let's not go overboard here. The guy had one good outing. If he repeats and repeats this, then good for him. But it is hard to knock Antonetti on this one, and I am someone generally quick to knock the front office.

Yeah I dont care about the outing, nor do I think he is "fixed". I care about the fact that they thought they could fix him .........but didnt have the time?

Bigfist wrote:Let's not go overboard here. The guy had one good outing. If he repeats and repeats this, then good for him. But it is hard to knock Antonetti on this one, and I am someone generally quick to knock the front office.

Yeah I dont care about the outing, nor do I think he is "fixed". I care about the fact that they thought they could fix him .........but didnt have the time?

I have the same viewpoint. I remember commenting in an earlier thread that I didn't think Radinsky was let go for no reason at all. But it is hard to believe that the Yankees knew something magical about Lowe. If they did, why not get him for a song and a dance last offseason, like the Indians did.

Agent Scott Boras acknowledged that contending teams won’t look to Derek Lowe as a starting pitcher this coming offseason. “Probably the only way, at this point of his career, to get on a good team this year and next year was as a reliever,” Boras told Sherman. The agent said his client should thrive in his new role. “Derek Lowe in the bullpen is a Lamborghini because he can do it all. He can pitch long, he can pitch in the seventh, eighth or ninth. This man is a Renaissance man.”

It must be hard having to spin so hard for mediocre players each and every day of your life. A little bit of his soul dies with each statement like this.

WiscTribeFan wrote:Agent Scott Boras acknowledged that contending teams won’t look to Derek Lowe as a starting pitcher this coming offseason. “Probably the only way, at this point of his career, to get on a good team this year and next year was as a reliever,” Boras told Sherman. The agent said his client should thrive in his new role. “Derek Lowe in the bullpen is a Lamborghini because he can do it all. He can pitch long, he can pitch in the seventh, eighth or ninth. This man is a Renaissance man.”

It must be hard having to spin so hard for mediocre players each and every day of your life. A little bit of his soul dies with each statement like this.